Page 24 of Crossing Between
My clit pulsed between my thighs and my fingers dug into his chest through his shirt. I could feel myself begin to pant as he drew another mouthful of blood. His nails had grown, and the prick of pain where he squeezed my waist drew out a loud moan that I had been trying to hold back. After this was over, I knew I'd be embarrassed for doing this in front of these men and my friend, but right now, I could barely give a fuck. I was so close. Just a little more.
"You are just as sweet as you seem. Both in blood and spirit."Varon's voice was a whisper in my mind. "I've never tasted such blood before. If I don't pull away now, I'll drain you, or worse, I'll take you right here on the floor in front of everyone, and I've not done that to someone in centuries."His chuckle was the last I heard before he pulled his teeth from my neck, licking up the small blood drops that formed before sealing the wound. He held me up with both arms around me now.
I collapsed against his chest, heaving out large breaths as I shook in realization. I'd let my boss see every aspect of me and my life. He knew me now more intimately than anyone I knew, minus the sex, but that had been almost as good, except, you know, I didn't get to cum. He'd even mentioned fucking me which was the biggest surprise.
At that thought, I lifted my head from his chest and narrowed my eyes at him in annoyance. "You suck."
Varon's head fell back, and he laughed. It was the first one I'd seen where he didn't hide anything beneath it. He truly thought I was funny. It made me stomp on his right toes. It didn't even make him flinch as he finished laughing. He cupped my right cheek, his thumb rubbing gently.
"She's never raised anyone and commanded them." He looked over at Elias and Kenji. "She doesn't truly have necromancy magic anyway, does she, doctor? It's a mask for something rarer." He dropped that like a hammer as he looked at Quilith. "Don't try to hide it, either. I know what evil tastes like, and she tastes of pure magic, like light."
I turned to look at Quilith with my narrowed eyes that had been glaring at Varon just a second ago. "What does he mean?" It took me a second to realize that Varon was still holding me around the waist, and I couldn't help my body as I leaned back against him. It felt natural to just let him do it.
Quilith sighed dramatically before they ran a hand through their hair in frustration. "I wasn't sure until now. I haven't tasted her magic through her blood." They flicked their hand in the air, and their magic exploded in the room in bright sparkles. "We figured out what monster you are looking for. Dragons know them as Essencefeasters. As do the dead. They've been hidden from most histories, magical and human."
Their magic swirled in the middle of the room as an illusion appeared of a monster. It had a ghastly and nightmarish appearance, with elongated limbs, sharp talons dipped in blood, and eyes that gleamed with malice and some kind of secret that made it amused all at once. It stood at least seven feet, even bent over with its talons trailing the ground.
Kenji gave a loud growl that raised the hairs on my arms. Varon's grip tightened ever so slightly as Elias stood abruptly from his chair in shock. Quilith's magic moved, showing like a movie in front of us.
The Essencefeaster disappeared as people of all races screamed in terror, sick with what must have been the Black Plague. Most were almost dead with sores that turned their skin black and rotting. As they all fell to death on the ground, their souls began to rise as normal until the demon appeared. The souls screamed silently as a mass of power ripped them fully from their bodies and were sucked into the demon's mouth with a loud guttural laugh.
"This demon is hated even amongst its own kind. It doesn't discriminate against what souls it devours. Other demons, supernaturals, humans, it doesn't matter as long as it can sate its hunger." Quilith's voice was grim as their magic disappeared, and we looked at them standing in the middle of the room now. "My kind thought we'd managed to eliminate the last of the Essencefeasters after the Black Plague, but apparently we've missed one that's started to come into its powers."
Varon pulled a chair over and pushed me down into it gently before grabbing his chair. "I'm assuming that if this demon gets to its full power, we'll see a repeat of the past for the humans?"
Quilith shook their head. "Not just humans. Everyone. Most dragons have moved on to our homeworld decades ago. There are few left, as you know. I doubt we'd be able to kill it without more, and it would take months to get any dragons to travel back to Earth. They would need a lot of convincing and don’t have the power to make portals like I do."
"So where does that leave us?" Kenji stood, his face in a scowl of frustration. "How do we catch this thing before more people die?"
"That's where our Zoey comes in, I assume." Varon crossed his right ankle over his left knee and folded his fingers together. His green eyes glowed against the horrid light in the room. "Why don't you explain what you know about her powers, Quilith?"
I blushed at the "our Zoey" remark.
"You're too damn smart for your own good, vampire." Quilith let their head drop back as they looked up at the ceiling. "I didn't want to say anything before I knew for sure, Zoey, I wasn't holding it back from you on purpose." They glanced at me with an apologetic grimace. "Don't be angry, love dove."
"There's been a lot that's happened today. I think I'm pretty numb, so you're safe from my wrath." I try to offer a smile, but I am starting to feel like my body was numb. What more could happen today? "I'm not sure you guys know what you're talking about, though. My family has historically had necromancers born into it, and there's no way I'm a Medium. What else could I be?"
"Something rarer." Quilith leaned forward, their hair falling over their shoulder. "Something that should never have been possible through anyone but a dragon." They paused as I just blinked at them in confusion. "I thought you were a necromancer, but the way you describe how your magic reacted, it isn't quite necromancy magic. Varon confirmed it when he said your blood isn't that of a necromancer. I'd like to try something later to be sure of it, but I'm almost one hundred percent positive I know what you are now."
I rubbed my temples with my hands, closed my eyes, and tried to breathe. Panic was seeping in to replace the numb feeling. I didn't understand this. "What are you saying?"
"You're a Soulbinder, my dear." Quilith kneeled in front of me, their hands on my knees. "Soulbinders are like a lost treasure within the dragon race."
"I don't even know what that means!" My frustration burst from me as tears fell down my cheeks. "First, I'm everyone's nightmare where the guy who kissed me not weeks ago looks at me like I'm a monster, my boss drinks my blood and almost made me cum in front of all of you, and I now get told I'm not a necromancer?" I might have raised my voice. Just a little bit.
"You kissed Zoey and didn't tell me?" Kenji interrupted my meltdown as he looked at his partner in disbelief. "How is that fair?"
"That's what you want to talk about?" Elias growled, his arms tentacles as he snapped at Kenji. "Not the greatest time!"
"Shut up, both of you." Varon stood, went over to them, and smacked them on top of their heads. "Not now."
A snort came out of me. I couldn't stop another one, and a second later, I was laughing. Quilith raised their brow at me, looking concerned, which just made me laugh harder. This whole situation was out of my control, I laughed even as my tears continued to flow.
"Um, why don't we go somewhere more comfortable?" Quilith pushed my hair away from my face as they looked back at Varon. "I think I broke her."
"I think that might be for the best." Varon walked over to us and picked me up out of the chair. I gave a slight squeak, my laughter stopped immediately as our eyes met. "We'll go to my house. Quilith, if you would?"
Chapter 17: Zoey
